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Category: iPhone X

Samsung's Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are using 20 percent thicker glass and a stronger aluminum frame, both of which are designed to cut down on damage from drops. Samsung says the Galaxy S9 and S9+ are more durable than previous devices thanks to the new materials.

SquareTrade today conducted its traditional breakability tests on the Galaxy S9 devices to test Samsung's claims. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ did indeed manage to beat out the iPhone X and older Galaxy devices, but they still didn't fare well when dropped.

In every drop test, conducted from a height of six feet, the Galaxy S9 and the S9+ shattered. The two devices bent at 230 and 210 pounds, respectively, and both were cracked in a 60 second tumble test. The Galaxy S9 earned an overall breakability score of 71, while the larger Galaxy S9+ earned a score of 76.

Back in November, SquareTrade conducted the same tests on the iPhone X and deemed it the "most breakable iPhone ever" as it too shattered at the front and back when dropped from a height of six feet.

The iPhone X actually fared worse in SquareTrade's tests and showed more extensive damage and breakage in every durability test. It earned an overall breakability score of 90, much higher than the S9 and S9+.

PhoneBuff also recently did some side-by-side drop tests to compare the Galaxy S9+ and the iPhone X. In a back drop test, the iPhone X held up while the Galaxy S9+'s glass back shattered. A side test comparing the iPhone X's stainless steel frame to the S9+'s aluminum frame also saw the iPhone X come out on top.

A third facedown drop on the display side of each smartphone saw the Galaxy S9+ win out over the iPhone X, which cracked. Overall, PhoneBuff used a numbered rating system to compare the drop results, giving the edge to the Samsung Galaxy S9+ because it held up better to a repeated drop test.

While the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ appear to have fared slightly better than the iPhone X in drop tests, the two devices are still made of glass and still shattered. They shattered to a somewhat a lesser degree, sure, but broken is broken. All glass smartphones, regardless of manufacturer, need to be used with caution and protected with a case as necessary.

Unsurprisingly, neither the iPhone X's "most durable" front and back glass nor the Galaxy S9's 20 percent thicker glass with "enhanced durability" can hold up to concrete and similar hard materials when dropped.

SquareTrade and PhoneBuff may have conducted these tests using specialized equipment for consistent results, but drop tests are never scientific and are not a reliable measure of durability because there are so many variables to take into account when a device is dropped in the real world.

Samsung, like Apple, offers an extended warranty that covers accidental damage. Priced at $11.99 per month, Samsung Premium Care allows Samsung device owners to submit three accidental damage claims in a 12-month period with a $99 deductible required.

Apple's AppleCare+ for iPhone X costs $199 up front and provides coverage for two incidents of accidental damage. Screen replacements require a $29 deductible, while all other damage is subject to a $99 fee. Sans AppleCare+, it costs $279 to repair a damaged iPhone X display and $549 for all other repairs.

Geskin tweeted a photo of an iPhone X and an accompanying SIM card tray in the new color earlier today. He said the device is "in production," with a codename of D21A. In a follow-up tweet, he added that the "color is real" and said Apple just "saved it for later," but hedged that "stuff can be canceled."

Geskin has gained a reputation for leaking dummy models, screen protectors, and accessories related to unreleased iPhones, but he doesn't have a perfect track record. Back in July, he said the iPhone X would be available in four colors, including a "mirror-like" finish that has yet to materialize.

In the months leading up to the iPhone X, it was widely rumored that the device would be available in a trio of colors, including Blush Gold, but Silver and Space Gray ended up being and remain the only colors available.

In September, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the gold model may encounter some production issues and be available in extremely low volume during pre-orders, which didn't happen, or go on sale at a later date entirely. Since then, rumors have largely gone quiet, beyond a few false release dates.

Apple recently announced it will be hosting an education-themed event on Tuesday, March 27 at Lane Tech College Prep High School in Chicago. While the event will be focused on "creative new ideas for teachers and students," it's certainly possible we could learn of the new iPhone X colors then.

Samsung decided to focus heavily on image quality in its latest devices, and the S9+ has a 12-megapixel f/1.5 to f/2.4 variable aperture lens as its main camera, which is paired with a 12-megapixel f/2.4 telephoto lens, similar to what's available in the iPhone X.

A variable aperture is unique to Samsung's new devices, and it offers some benefits that are going to improve image quality. With a variable aperture, it's easier to find a balance between light and image quality.

Click to enlarge

At the wider f/1.5 aperture, the Galaxy S9+ camera can let in more light in low light situations, but a wider aperture tends to compromise image sharpness at the edges of the photo. In conditions where the lighting is better, the narrower f/2.4 aperture will provide a crisper higher-quality image. The Galaxy S9+ can automatically select the proper aperture for the best image.

The iPhone X has two lenses like the Galaxy S9+, but no adjustable aperture, and that gives the S9+ a bit of an edge. As you'll see in the images below, though, both the iPhone X and the Galaxy S9+ have fantastic cameras that are capable of taking some amazing images.

In these photos, we used an automatic mode to capture the images, and no editing was done. This image of a sunset demonstrates some key differences between the two cameras. The S9+ offers a crisper image with more definition, but the colors in the iPhone X image are warmer and more true to life.

Click to enlarge

The Galaxy S9+ has a "Live Focus" mode that's similar to Portrait Mode on the iPhone X, and the photo below compares Live Focus with Portrait Mode. Both of these modes have some issues, but making adjustments to blur is easier on the Galaxy S9+, which gives it the win over the iPhone X. In general, the Galaxy S9 also has more built-in image editing tools with its Pro Mode for taking manual photos.

Click to enlarge

In addition to images, we also took a look at video modes. Samsung's Galaxy S9 can record in slow motion at 960 FPS, a unique feature because the iPhone X's slo-mo maxes out at 240 FPS. Both devices can also record in 4K video with optical image stabilization, but the Galaxy S9+'s video was less jittery. The iPhone X did win out when it came to suppressing outdoor wind sound, though.

Both of these cameras, as mentioned before, are great and can capture images that are on par with DSLRs in some situations, but there are definitely some features that make the Galaxy S9+ ever so slightly better than iPhone X when it comes to image and video quality.

Click to enlarge

Of course, Apple is going to be introducing the successor to the iPhone X in about six months, and with the camera improvements that come with every new upgrade, it's likely iPhones coming in 2018 will outshine the Galaxy S9+.

Which images do you prefer? iPhone X or Galaxy S9+? Let us know in the comments.

Apple this afternoon uploaded a new iPhone X video to its YouTube channel, which is designed to show off Face ID, the facial recognition feature of the iPhone X.

In the humorous video, which appears to take place at a high school, using Face ID on the iPhone X causes everything in the surrounding area to unlock, including lockers, cabinets, doors, and more, with items flying everywhere.

We're starting to see more 7.5-watt wireless chargers hitting the market, and RAVPower is another popular charging accessory manufacturer that's getting into the mix. RAVPower's previous Fast Wireless Charger has been one of my favorite chargers for the iPhone X, but the company has also been working on improvements leading to a recently launched series of chargers under "HyperAir" branding. The lineup includes flat charging bases, a charging stand, and even a power bank that can wirelessly charge your iPhone.

RAVPower promotes its new HyperAir accessories as supporting both 7.5-watt iPhone and 10-watt Android charging with optimal efficiency, using intelligent temperature monitoring and improved heat dissipation to maintain charging speeds for longer periods of time.

RAVPower notes that the iPhone uses a narrow fixed frequency for its wireless charging, and HyperAir chargers are optimized to match that frequency for fast charging. Upon placing an iPhone on a HyperAir charger, the charger quickly identifies the device and optimizes its charging profile, allowing for a complete charge in two and a half to three hours.

I've been testing three different types of chargers from the HyperAir lineup, and I've come away impressed with several of them. I'm always on the lookout for stand-style chargers, and the new HyperAir stand is a good one. It has an unobtrusive black finish but with a little bit more style than Anker's stands, with rear and bottom supports that appear distinct from the main body, and it's completely silent with no integrated fan. The lack of active cooling could result in temperature issues, but RAVPower's temperature sensing and management technology helps overcome some of those challenges.

RAVPower HyperAir stand

In my testing, the HyperAir stand charged my iPhone X battery from 10 percent to 51 percent in an hour, well ahead of most other chargers and second only to Anker's new PowerWave stand in that metric.

RAVPower HyperAir stand

A horizontal LED on the front of the stand pulses green during charging, briefly shines solid red when first plugged in, and can flash red if there's a charging problem.

RAVPower HyperAir pad

I also tested RAVPower's HyperAir pad, and somewhat surprisingly I found that it wasn't able to charge my phone as quickly, reaching just 41 percent after an hour. That's pretty much in line with charging speeds I've seen on many other chargers including those running at 5 watts, so I'm not entirely sure why it wasn't quite able to match its stand sibling. The HyperAir pad is a fairly standard looking pad with a slim design and a similar horizontal LED to the one seen on the stand model, capable of shining green or red to let you know its status.

As with Anker's PowerWave chargers, RAVPower's HyperAir stand and pad each come with an 18-watt power adapter that supports the Quick Charge 3.0 standard. The chargers require a Quick Charge 3.0 adapter to function, and will not work with other power adapters or USB ports. RAVPower includes a really nice braided micro-USB cable in the box as well.

The HyperAir stand is normally priced at $49.99 and the pad at $39.99, but RAVPower is offering a special limited-time Amazon deal of 20 percent off for MacRumors readers, bringing the cost of the stand down to $39.99 with promo code MACRPC69 and the pad down to $31.99 with promo code MACRPC66.

In addition to the stand and pad, RAVPower's HyperAir lineup also includes a 10,400 mAh portable power bank with built-in wireless charging pad, listed at $67.99 on Amazon but currently very short of stock. The power bank lets you charge up to two devices simultaneously, one wirelessly by setting your phone on top of the power bank and a second through a 2.4A USB port. At 10,400 mAh, there's a decent amount of power available for charging multiple devices multiple times.

RAVPower HyperAir power bank

My charging test saw the power bank only push my iPhone X battery to 42 percent, which isn't quite as good as some of the wired HyperAir and PowerWave chargers, but not bad considering this is for charging on the go.

Wireless charging on a power bank can be tricky if you're out and about, as you need to keep the phone aligned with the charging pad, but if it works for your needs, this is a solid option and there aren't a ton of these types of accessories on the market yet. The USB port also lets you fall back to wired charging if you need to charge without a stable surface around to set things up on. It feels like a pretty large price premium over standard power banks just to add wireless charging, but it might be worthwhile for some users.

The design is a fairly simple black plastic that's nothing special, but it does the trick and has a non-slip surface for charging pad. There's an LED on the side that lets you know the wireless charging status with the same green and red colors as the other HyperAir chargers, and the charging state of the power bank itself can be determined from a set of four small blue LEDs on the top surface. RAVPower includes a flat micro-USB cable and a USB-C to micro-USB adapter in the box, but there's no included power adapter. RAVPower recommends you use at least a 2A adapter for maximum recharging speed.

RAVPower tells me it is applying to the WPC for Qi certification on these new chargers and hopes to receive it by the end of next month.

Note: RAVPower provided the wireless chargers to MacRumors free of charge for the purposes of this review. No other compensation was received. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon and may earn commissions on purchases made through links in this article.

We're starting to see more 7.5-watt wireless chargers hitting the market, and RAVPower is another popular charging accessory manufacturer that's getting into the mix. RAVPower's previous Fast Wireless Charger has been one of my favorite chargers for the iPhone X, but the company has also been working on improvements leading to a recently launched series of chargers under "HyperAir" branding. The lineup includes flat charging bases, a charging stand, and even a power bank that can wirelessly charge your iPhone.

RAVPower promotes its new HyperAir accessories as supporting both 7.5-watt iPhone and 10-watt Android charging with optimal efficiency, using intelligent temperature monitoring and improved heat dissipation to maintain charging speeds for longer periods of time.

RAVPower notes that the iPhone uses a narrow fixed frequency for its wireless charging, and HyperAir chargers are optimized to match that frequency for fast charging. Upon placing an iPhone on a HyperAir charger, the charger quickly identifies the device and optimizes its charging profile, allowing for a complete charge in two and a half to three hours.

I've been testing three different types of chargers from the HyperAir lineup, and I've come away impressed with several of them. I'm always on the lookout for stand-style chargers, and the new HyperAir stand is a good one. It has an unobtrusive black finish but with a little bit more style than Anker's stands, with rear and bottom supports that appear distinct from the main body, and it's completely silent with no integrated fan. The lack of active cooling could result in temperature issues, but RAVPower's temperature sensing and management technology helps overcome some of those challenges.

RAVPower HyperAir stand

In my testing, the HyperAir stand charged my iPhone X battery from 10 percent to 51 percent in an hour, well ahead of most other chargers and second only to Anker's new PowerWave stand in that metric.

RAVPower HyperAir stand

A horizontal LED on the front of the stand pulses green during charging, briefly shines solid red when first plugged in, and can flash red if there's a charging problem.

RAVPower HyperAir pad

I also tested RAVPower's HyperAir pad, and somewhat surprisingly I found that it wasn't able to charge my phone as quickly, reaching just 41 percent after an hour. That's pretty much in line with charging speeds I've seen on many other chargers including those running at 5 watts, so I'm not entirely sure why it wasn't quite able to match its stand sibling. The HyperAir pad is a fairly standard looking pad with a slim design and a similar horizontal LED to the one seen on the stand model, capable of shining green or red to let you know its status.

As with Anker's PowerWave chargers, RAVPower's HyperAir stand and pad each come with an 18-watt power adapter that supports the Quick Charge 3.0 standard. The chargers require a Quick Charge 3.0 adapter to function, and will not work with other power adapters or USB ports. RAVPower includes a really nice braided micro-USB cable in the box as well.

The HyperAir stand is normally priced at $49.99 and the pad at $39.99, but RAVPower is offering a special limited-time Amazon deal of 20 percent off for MacRumors readers, bringing the cost of the stand down to $39.99 with promo code MACRPC69 and the pad down to $31.99 with promo code MACRPC66.

In addition to the stand and pad, RAVPower's HyperAir lineup also includes a 10,400 mAh portable power bank with built-in wireless charging pad, listed at $67.99 on Amazon but currently very short of stock. The power bank lets you charge up to two devices simultaneously, one wirelessly by setting your phone on top of the power bank and a second through a 2.4A USB port. At 10,400 mAh, there's a decent amount of power available for charging multiple devices multiple times.

RAVPower HyperAir power bank

My charging test saw the power bank only push my iPhone X battery to 42 percent, which isn't quite as good as some of the wired HyperAir and PowerWave chargers, but not bad considering this is for charging on the go.

Wireless charging on a power bank can be tricky if you're out and about, as you need to keep the phone aligned with the charging pad, but if it works for your needs, this is a solid option and there aren't a ton of these types of accessories on the market yet. The USB port also lets you fall back to wired charging if you need to charge without a stable surface around to set things up on. It feels like a pretty large price premium over standard power banks just to add wireless charging, but it might be worthwhile for some users.

The design is a fairly simple black plastic that's nothing special, but it does the trick and has a non-slip surface for charging pad. There's an LED on the side that lets you know the wireless charging status with the same green and red colors as the other HyperAir chargers, and the charging state of the power bank itself can be determined from a set of four small blue LEDs on the top surface. RAVPower includes a flat micro-USB cable and a USB-C to micro-USB adapter in the box, but there's no included power adapter. RAVPower recommends you use at least a 2A adapter for maximum recharging speed.

RAVPower tells me it is applying to the WPC for Qi certification on these new chargers and hopes to receive it by the end of next month.

Note: RAVPower provided the wireless chargers to MacRumors free of charge for the purposes of this review. No other compensation was received. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon and may earn commissions on purchases made through links in this article.

ColorWare this week announced it has released a limited edition original iPhone skin for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, and iPhone X.

Over 10 years ago, Apple debuted their revolutionary iPhone. This product changed everything for mobile phone owners. The bar of expectations was risen to a point that changed the market forever. ColorWare would like to pay homage to this historical event by offering our Limited Edition Original iPhone skin.

ColorWare says its single-piece matte skins are made with genuine 3M vinyl, allowing for easier installation and a better final look.

The skins are available for $19 each in the United States for a limited time only. They are estimated to ship in three to five business days.

With the launch of the iPhone X, 8, and 8 Plus last September, Apple finally embraced wireless smartphone charging, and as of the release of iOS 11.2 in December, the devices became able to support faster 7.5-watt charging.

Belkin and Mophie were Apple's launch partners for wireless charging, with their optimized charging bases launching alongside the new phones and supporting the 7.5-watt power targeted by Apple. While Belkin and Mophie's chargers had Apple's early seal of approval, plenty of other manufacturers already had wireless chargers rated at 5 watts and higher on the market. Pretty much all of them work just fine with iPhones, and in fact in our testing we found not much difference in iPhone charging speed between 5-watt and 7.5-watt chargers.

Now that Apple's 7.5-watt charging spec has been available for a while, we're starting to see more accessory manufacturers launching new chargers optimized to work with the new iPhones. One of the first major brands out of the gate in this wave is Anker, which has long been very popular with consumers for offering solid charging accessories at good prices with excellent customer service.

I profiled some of Anker's previous wireless chargers back in December as part of my early wireless charger roundup, and several of those models have been strong sellers. With Apple's specs for 7.5-watt charging now available, Anker today is releasing two new wireless chargers optimized to work with the iPhone. The new chargers, arriving under the "PowerWave" marketing name, feature built-in fans to help keep things cool and maintain high charging speeds at both 7.5 watts for iPhones and 10 watts for compatible Android phones. According to Anker, the fans help charge iPhones up to an hour faster than other chargers on the market.

“After testing most of the chargers on the market, we discovered that they shared a major flaw: the wireless coils gradually heat up and this prevents the chargers from dispensing 7.5W for long periods of time,” explained Steven Yang, CEO of Anker Innovations. “By adding a fan underneath the coil, we manage to regulate temperature and therefore allow the device to output consistent 7.5W power, resulting in the fastest wireless charge for the new iPhones.”

Anker certainly isn't the first company to incorporate fans into its chargers, as the feature has been important for some of the 10-watt and even 15-watt chargers compatible with some Android phones. But pairing a fan-based cooling system with optimizations for Apple's 7.5-watt spec has enabled Anker to charge iPhones even faster.

I've spent some time with both of Anker's new PowerWave offerings, which include a stand model and a pad model. Anker's previous 5-watt stand model has been my charger of choice on my office desk for the past several months, so I was eager to try out that style of PowerWave charger in particular.

Anker PowerWave 7.5W Stand

The PowerWave 7.5W Stand is normally priced at $49.99 and has a similar molded plastic design to the earlier 5-watt model, but comes in white instead of black. The white certainly attracts some attention, which can be a positive or a negative depending on the environment it's placed in. I happen to like the look. The other design difference compared to the 5-watt model is that the base is much thicker in order to incorporate the fan. With the micro-USB port for the stand over to one side of the base, there's room for a relatively large fan grille to help keep air moving.

Anker PowerWave 7.5W Stand

In my testing, the PowerWave 7.5W Stand certainly lived up to Anker's claims of charging speed, as it was able to charge my iPhone X battery from 10 percent to 56 percent in just one hour. Nearly all of the over two dozen other chargers I've tested have only been able to reach between 38 and 43 percent over that time period. Whether charging speed is important depends on your individual use patterns, and some users have concerns over fast charging having a negative impact on long-term battery health, which is also part of the reason for having a fan to keep things cooler. But for many people, the risk to long-term battery health is worth it if they can top off their phones more quickly when they're dropped onto a charger.

While the fan helps keep things cool and lets the charger maintain optimal charging speed for longer, it does make some noise. The stand generates an audible whirring sound that can be heard even from across a quiet room. For that reason, you might want to think twice about using this charger on a nightstand or in other quiet environments. But in a busy office setting with noise around or if you typically have music or other sounds playing while your phone is charging, it may not be noticeable.

I also tested out the $45.99 PowerWave 7.5W Pad, and interestingly, it didn't charge my iPhone X quite as quickly as the stand did, but it was still able to outperform nearly every other charger I've tested, boosting my battery from 10 percent to 49 percent in an hour. Otherwise, this is a pretty typical pad-style charger, although it does have a similar eye-catching white color to the stand and is a little bulkier than some other pads due to the fan underneath the pad.

Anker PowerWave 7.5W Pad

Both the stand and the charger have distinctive small, circular, blue LEDs that light up while charging and flash to let you know if there'a problem. The LEDs are subtle enough that they're not distracting even in dark rooms. The pad's fan is audible, although it sounds significantly quieter than the stand.

Beyond Apple's strict requirements, there's another reason these PowerWave chargers are priced a bit higher than some of Anker's other offerings, and that's the fact that not only do you get a micro-USB cable but also a compact 18-watt Quick Charge 3.0 power adapter with folding prongs and a single USB-A port. The inclusion of the power adapter is important, as these chargers require a Quick Charge 3.0 adapter in order to work at all. If you plug the charger into another power adapter like one of Apple's iPhone or iPad adapters, or even a standard USB port on a hub, the charger will not charge your phone. That's something to keep in mind depending on how you're planning to use the chargers.

Anker's new PowerWave chargers are launching today on Amazon, and the company is submitting them to the Wireless Power Consortium for official Qi certification. The PowerWave stand is normally priced at $49.99 and the PowerWave pad at $45.99, but for a limited time Anker is offering a special deal through Amazon that gives you 15 percent off one charger (promo code POWER752) or 20 percent off two or more (promo code POWER753).

Note: Anker provided the wireless chargers to MacRumors free of charge for the purposes of this review. No other compensation was received. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon and may earn commissions on purchases made through links in this article.

With the launch of the iPhone X, 8, and 8 Plus last September, Apple finally embraced wireless smartphone charging, and as of the release of iOS 11.2 in December, the devices became able to support faster 7.5-watt charging.

Belkin and Mophie were Apple's launch partners for wireless charging, with their optimized charging bases launching alongside the new phones and supporting the 7.5-watt power targeted by Apple. While Belkin and Mophie's chargers had Apple's early seal of approval, plenty of other manufacturers already had wireless chargers rated at 5 watts and higher on the market. Pretty much all of them work just fine with iPhones, and in fact in our testing we found not much difference in iPhone charging speed between 5-watt and 7.5-watt chargers.

Now that Apple's 7.5-watt charging spec has been available for a while, we're starting to see more accessory manufacturers launching new chargers optimized to work with the new iPhones. One of the first major brands out of the gate in this wave is Anker, which has long been very popular with consumers for offering solid charging accessories at good prices with excellent customer service.

I profiled some of Anker's previous wireless chargers back in December as part of my early wireless charger roundup, and several of those models have been strong sellers. With Apple's specs for 7.5-watt charging now available, Anker today is releasing two new wireless chargers optimized to work with the iPhone. The new chargers, arriving under the "PowerWave" marketing name, feature built-in fans to help keep things cool and maintain high charging speeds at both 7.5 watts for iPhones and 10 watts for compatible Android phones. According to Anker, the fans help charge iPhones up to an hour faster than other chargers on the market.

“After testing most of the chargers on the market, we discovered that they shared a major flaw: the wireless coils gradually heat up and this prevents the chargers from dispensing 7.5W for long periods of time,” explained Steven Yang, CEO of Anker Innovations. “By adding a fan underneath the coil, we manage to regulate temperature and therefore allow the device to output consistent 7.5W power, resulting in the fastest wireless charge for the new iPhones.”

Anker certainly isn't the first company to incorporate fans into its chargers, as the feature has been important for some of the 10-watt and even 15-watt chargers compatible with some Android phones. But pairing a fan-based cooling system with optimizations for Apple's 7.5-watt spec has enabled Anker to charge iPhones even faster.

I've spent some time with both of Anker's new PowerWave offerings, which include a stand model and a pad model. Anker's previous 5-watt stand model has been my charger of choice on my office desk for the past several months, so I was eager to try out that style of PowerWave charger in particular.

Anker PowerWave 7.5W Stand

The PowerWave 7.5W Stand is normally priced at $49.99 and has a similar molded plastic design to the earlier 5-watt model, but comes in white instead of black. The white certainly attracts some attention, which can be a positive or a negative depending on the environment it's placed in. I happen to like the look. The other design difference compared to the 5-watt model is that the base is much thicker in order to incorporate the fan. With the micro-USB port for the stand over to one side of the base, there's room for a relatively large fan grille to help keep air moving.

Anker PowerWave 7.5W Stand

In my testing, the PowerWave 7.5W Stand certainly lived up to Anker's claims of charging speed, as it was able to charge my iPhone X battery from 10 percent to 56 percent in just one hour. Nearly all of the over two dozen other chargers I've tested have only been able to reach between 38 and 43 percent over that time period. Whether charging speed is important depends on your individual use patterns, and some users have concerns over fast charging having a negative impact on long-term battery health, which is also part of the reason for having a fan to keep things cooler. But for many people, the risk to long-term battery health is worth it if they can top off their phones more quickly when they're dropped onto a charger.

While the fan helps keep things cool and lets the charger maintain optimal charging speed for longer, it does make some noise. The stand generates an audible whirring sound that can be heard even from across a quiet room. For that reason, you might want to think twice about using this charger on a nightstand or in other quiet environments. But in a busy office setting with noise around or if you typically have music or other sounds playing while your phone is charging, it may not be noticeable.

I also tested out the $45.99 PowerWave 7.5W Pad, and interestingly, it didn't charge my iPhone X quite as quickly as the stand did, but it was still able to outperform nearly every other charger I've tested, boosting my battery from 10 percent to 49 percent in an hour. Otherwise, this is a pretty typical pad-style charger, although it does have a similar eye-catching white color to the stand and is a little bulkier than some other pads due to the fan underneath the pad.

Anker PowerWave 7.5W Pad

Both the stand and the charger have distinctive small, circular, blue LEDs that light up while charging and flash to let you know if there'a problem. The LEDs are subtle enough that they're not distracting even in dark rooms. The pad's fan is audible, although it sounds significantly quieter than the stand.

Beyond Apple's strict requirements, there's another reason these PowerWave chargers are priced a bit higher than some of Anker's other offerings, and that's the fact that not only do you get a micro-USB cable but also a compact 18-watt Quick Charge 3.0 power adapter with folding prongs and a single USB-A port. The inclusion of the power adapter is important, as these chargers require a Quick Charge 3.0 adapter in order to work at all. If you plug the charger into another power adapter like one of Apple's iPhone or iPad adapters, or even a standard USB port on a hub, the charger will not charge your phone. That's something to keep in mind depending on how you're planning to use the chargers.

Anker's new PowerWave chargers are launching today on Amazon, and the company is submitting them to the Wireless Power Consortium for official Qi certification. The PowerWave stand is normally priced at $49.99 and the PowerWave pad at $45.99, but for a limited time Anker is offering a special deal through Amazon that gives you 15 percent off one charger (promo code POWER752) or 20 percent off two or more (promo code POWER753).

Note: Anker provided the wireless chargers to MacRumors free of charge for the purposes of this review. No other compensation was received. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon and may earn commissions on purchases made through links in this article.

Apple's Animoji are enabled through the TrueDepth camera system, which is Apple's 3D facial recognition feature that maps out a user's facial features. The TrueDepth camera analyzes more than 50 muscle movements in different areas of the face for Animoji, detecting movement of the eyebrows, cheeks, chin, eyes, jaw, lips, eyes, and mouth to create super realistic representations of facial expressions.

Samsung's AR Emoji, while similar to Animoji, don't have the same kind of underlying technology powering them, so the facial expressions AR Emoji can replicate are far more rudimentary. While Animoji on the iPhone X can mimic subtle expressions, on the Galaxy S9, AR Emoji have trouble with anything that isn't exaggerated, better recognizing movements like a blink or an open mouth than something more subtle like a wink or an angry face.

There are a limited number of Animoji available, though, and that's where Samsung has Apple beat. There are more AR Emoji character options to work with, and in fact, you can even create a custom Bitmoji-style character modeled after your own face.

Characters can be customized with unique facial features, clothing, skin tone, and more, plus your recordings with AR Emoji aren't limited to 10 seconds -- you can record for as long as you want. You can also add stickers, and there are Bitmoji-like pre-made GIFs to send to people.

All in all, AR Emoji seems to have more in common with Snapchat than with Animoji. Those aforementioned stickers are similar to the Snapchat filters that let you add sunglasses, cute animal faces, and more to your own face and can't be compared to anything offered natively by Apple.

It's worth noting that third-party apps like Snapchat on iPhone X can also take advantage of the TrueDepth camera for filters that better fit the face, while on Samsung devices, Snapchat filters and AR Emoji stickers look much less natural.

As is typical, Samsung wins out in customizability, but Apple has the edge when it comes to the underlying technology. What do you think of AR Emoji compared to Animoji? Let us know in the comments.